January 2005 Archives

Best Product in a Leading Role. Presence of Aflac duck: one more reason not to see a Jim Carrey movie.

A Baedeker of myth, ritual, and magic. Once you get past the language about "primitives" and "savages," it's fascinating stuff -- a look into the archetypes of human society. (0380789035:American Gods and 60021185:The Wicker Man make much more sense now!) Although Frazer's scholarship is dated, I was still left with a sense that the modern view of the world is both very recent and sadly lacking. (Oh, and it's all online at Bartelby.)

William S. Burroughs's head is a very strange place to be. This is a collection of his dreams.

I am somehow on the email list for Jeffrey Seglin's Right Thing column. Today's "Sound Off" question was one I had to respond to:

SOUND OFF: RESTRICTED DONATIONS

The outpouring of millions of dollars in contributions from individuals to help victims of the tsunami in southern Asia has reflected incredible generosity. But many people have made donations to relief organizations specifying that the money be used only for tsunami victims, rather than leaving the use of the money up to the agency's discretion.

There's some concern that such restrictions may hurt relief efforts in other crisis areas. After receiving $50 million in contributions, Doctors Without Borders said that it had enough money for its work with tsunami victims and asked that donors contribute to other areas where the relief organization works.

The issue raises the questions: Once you've found a relief group you trust to do good work, is it right to restrict where a donation can be used? Or is it better to leave the use of the money to the discretion of the aid group?

Here's my reply:

The Power of the Unrestricted Gift

As a fundraising professional, I believe that giving free of restrictions is more effective than earmarking gifts. When you invest in a for-profit corporation, you are putting your money behind the company's management and their strategy. Equity investors don't demand that their particular funds be placed into R&D, or advertising, or into a particular product. Nonprofit investors should act the same. You are investing in us, our mission, and our strategy. As a donor, you should of course do your due diligence. Is the strategy sound? Does the organization get results? Is the money being spent wisely? But second-guessing the management of nonprofits can lead to unintended consequences.

For instance, it can lead to the "special projects" trap. Many major donors, both institutional and individual, want to give to special projects. It is of course worthy to help a nonprofit launch a new initiative, and donors are right to be proud that their dollars built a building, or created a program. But if too many donors demand that their funds go to special projects, then managers are left scrambling for funding to pay for core programs -- not to mention the light bill. The capital market of contributions all too often rewards novelty over results.

Finally, Maimonides reminds us that the penultimate level of charity is "one who gives tzedaka to the poor, but does not know to whom he gives, nor does the recipient know his benefactor."

Ish already has a method to automagically create Amazon links, but I figured that when it comes to movies, the most likely thing you'd want to do after reading about it is to put it in your Netflix queue. So, a new shortcut premieres today:

<netflix>00354611:Casablanca</netflix> will now code to 00354611:Casablanca. The first part should be the Netflix's movie ID number, which is the number right after "movieid=" in the URL. Note that the ID number for older movies is 6 digits rather than 8 (I guess they realized that they might have more than 999,999 titles some day), so you'll have to add "00" to the beginning if you want it to work.

Boring "here's how it's done" stuff below the fold.

Just re-watched this very under-rated film. It starts off very Boyz N The Hood but halfway through becomes a completely different film. I won't say more. The 12-year old lead more than holds his own with Samuel Jackson and Giancarlo Esposito. I turned off the (self-involved) director's commentary pretty quickly, but I will say that his comparison of this film to 22466740:The 400 Blows isn't far off. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Found on Eyebeam reBlog.

Via pesky'

Remember Free iPods? Well, now the same company is running a Free Mac Minis scheme (though they're calling them Mini Macs). Anyone? Not I, since I can’t stand the thought of volunteering my data to one of these information-accrual marketing companies.

Sex in High School Involves Long Chains of Relations, concludes a recent study. I think the J. Geils Band should be in the footnotes somewhere:

You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win
And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
Etc.

Seriously, though, the diagram is pretty Tufte-worthy. Story via URLDJ.

This is "no name calling" week. But you probably already knew that didn't you, you little wuss?

David Brooks, Wayne’s Worst Export, in his editorial today declaring (by fiat) the End of Hypocrisy, includes this list of American Idealists:

While many back home have lost faith, our troops fight because their efforts are aligned with the core ideals of this country, articulated by Jefferson, Walt Whitman, Lincoln, F.D.R., Truman, J.F.K., Reagan and now Bush.

Walt Whitman? Was he President? What's he doing in this list, exactly? And what would he and Bush have to say to each other about American ideals?

* Headline for this post supplied by Debbie.

Still trying to get Technorati tags to work. Ignore this post.

TestingOne. Testing 2.

Technorati seems to be working...

I really want to think that this Tsunami Game was done up before the disaster that left nearly a quarter of a million dead, and that no-one's bothered to pull it from the web yet. And who's responsible? FEMA, of course! Can you say "public relations disaster," kids?

They also have a kids' comic book on tsunamis, which isn't so bad.

Via Gadgetopia.

It is always amazing to me how ignorant people are of foreign lands and the troubles they face. For example, how many people are aware of how disease continues to claim thousands of lives in Lordaeron? Or the irresponsible and reprehensible environmental damage being wrought by corporate interests in Mulgore (not to mention the massive and intentional deforestation happening in the Stonetalon Mountains)? Or the problems of dislocated communities trying to integrate into mainstream culture while preserving their traditions, as is currently happening in both Durotar and Khaz Modan?

I'm proud to say that I've spent a lot of time and energy trying to address these problems, and I think I'm making a difference. Of course, more hands are always welcome, so if you think you are up to it, read on. Particularly if you are a Druid or a Shaman, as I think those would be the most helpful (though we wouldn't spit on a Rogue).

Apparently, what Joe Biden and Dianne Feinstein learned in Bush’s first term is that maybe if you softball a nominee's confirmation hearing, she'll go on to do what you want, as recounted in the NY Times. “Past behavior is no guarantee of future results,” runs the financial services disclaimer, and it would seem that the standards-bearers of the Democratic party have taken that to mean that past actions are not to be counted against a nominee for secretary of state. Some cherce extracts from the article:

Mr. Biden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1972, as the United States was extricating itself from Vietnam, said he hoped Ms. Rice would be a voice for greater candor from the administration on the Iraq undertaking, in terms of how many troops will ultimately be needed, and for how long.

And that’s because she’s been in the forefront of acknowledging her mistakes and owning up to them. Not to mention how she’s tried so many times to clarify honestly why no WMDs have been found

Condoleezza Rice pledged today that, as secretary of state, she will work tirelessly to strengthen American alliances around the world while following President Bush’s policy of spreading freedom and democracy.

I think the policy is actually called “forcibly spreading freedom and democracy heedless of the costs at home or abroad”

Stratfor responds to Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article on Iran:

Deliberate disinformation would certainly be more comforting these winter nights than imagining a ticked-off intelligence officer spilling his guts to Hersh. It comes down to this: On the broadest level, Hersh's story simply restates what is known or logical. On a deeper level, it reveals details that, if true, could cripple U.S. intelligence collection in Iran. That Hersh would publish this is a given. That he could get hold of information like this from the CIA is a crisis. Or, Hersh could simply have been the victim of U.S. information operations.

What do you all think? Has Hersh committed a Plame-level crime?

Start: Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway
Finish: Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Distance as the crow flies: 324 miles
Distance if you go via the route suggested by MSN Maps: 1685.9 Miles

The Washington Times recently reported on the importance of faith to the President. It quotes him as saying:

"I think people attack me because they are fearful that I will then say that you're not equally as patriotic if you're not a religious person," Mr. Bush said. "I've never said that. I've never acted like that. I think that's just the way it is.

The obvious interpretation of the above statement is that the President believes what he claims to have never said before, that one cannot be fully patriotic without being religious. This would not be surprising, this argument has been around for a long time, and would be consistent with the President's other beliefs.

Over at Marginal Revolution, Alek says:

More people die from medical mistakes each year than from highway accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS and yet physicians still resist and the public does not demand even simple reforms.

The New England Journal of Medicine, for example, has just published another study, as if we needed it, showing that interns who are kept awake for 30 hours straight are a danger to themselves and innocent bystanders as well as to patients:

Researchers found that interns more than doubled their risk of getting into a car accident after being on call, a stint that meant working for 32 consecutive hours with only two or three hours of sleep, on average. Interns were also nearly six times as likely to report nearly having an accident on their way home.

....The researchers say those limits don't give doctors enough time to sleep. A study published last fall, also in the New England Journal, found that interns who spent every third night working in the intensive care unit made 36% more medical errors than interns who kept less onerous schedules. They also made serious diagnostic errors 5.6 times as often as their well-rested counterparts, the study found.

Short term solution: make all doctors buy and use the Sleep Alert Master. That way at least they wont kill people when they are driving home so tired that they might as well be drunk. Wont do bupkis for their patients though.

The Saga of Bloodninja. Messing with the minds of cybersexers. Funny.

Via URLDJ.

I was overthrilled to see in Boing Boing that Technorati is now aggregating Flickr and Del.icio.us links with meta-tagged blog posts. Ishbadiddle's subject coding is tailor-made for this application, and so with a brief bit of coding, every subject now has a link to the Technorati tag page. If this is all meaningless to you, then just click where you see this image below and all will be clear as still water, Grasshopper:

UPDATE: Should I just call my subjects "tags"? Would that make their function more transparent / obvious?

The Team Leader: Summers.
Team Leader's Old Flame: No longer among the living.
Team Leader's New Flame: Old nemesis, not entirely trusted by The Team.
Writer: Joss Whedon.

Quick, name the title! If you answered "Buffy," you're close. But you're wrong. That's Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. Joss has been brought on to write 0785115315:The Astonishing X-Men. If like me you stopped reading X-Men comics because there were just so damn many titles, I'd highly recommend picking this one up. Great dialog, great story. (This book collects the first 6 issues of the Whedon run; the second batch is out now in individual issues.)

A heartbreaking work of staggering genius. I picked this up after watching B00012YIE6:Stone Reader, but I'm certain my late stepfather had this book -- it's so him. I wish I could ask him about it.

The Univ. of CA Press puts 400 books online for free. Free! Amardeep Singh gives us the story.

Well, actually, Moscow, Idaho. The headline isn't nearly as good that way though. Anyhoo, you can buy a black protest bracelet that says "I Did Not Vote 4 Bush" for a buck. Be the first on your block! Thanks to peksy' for the story.

With Flash, of course. Via TMN.

I came across this while looking at Chris Owens' website (he's Major Owens' son, who'll be running for his seat next time). I thought the ishbadiddlers might be interested.

Jessie

fyi, Chris Owens' website is interesting too... (I'm not sure if you're in his district)

Audit finds anti-terror funds used to facilitate lawn-mower races in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - An audit of Texas' spending of nearly $600 million in U.S. government anti-terrorism funds found some of the money was spent improperly, including to buy a trailer that was used to haul lawn mowers to "lawn-mower drag races."

via robotfilter

"Blogs and message forums buzzed this week with the discovery that a pair of simple Google searches permits access to well over 1,000 unprotected surveillance cameras around the world - apparently without their owners' knowledge. Searching on certain strings within a URL sniffs out networked cameras that have Web interfaces permitting their owners to view them remotely, and even direct the cameras' motorized pan-and-tilt mechanisms from the comfort of their own desktop. "[cite] To learn more about how to watch little brother, check out BoingBoing.

It's a hideous dress. And I love her defense: "The lawsuit says that after the prom, school officials made students wearing Confederate symbols change or remove the items even though the symbols were not creating any disruption in the predominantly white high school in northeast Kentucky." Huh? White people can't be offended by the Confederate flag? Excuse me, that flag made more American widows than the Nazi flag did ... sheesh. YOU ALL TRIED TO LEAVE, YOUR FLAG IS UNAMERICAN.

North Korea is pushing back against the west! What is it doing - increasing press freedom? Food production? Nope - they're running TV programs against that notorious corruptor of socialist vigor - LONG HAIR. They're running two programs. One, called "Hairdressing and Our Living", highlights approved haircuts, the other, called "Let Us Trim Our Hair in Accordance With Socialist Lifestyle" catches men with too long hair on the street and harasses them! Even worse, it harasses their wives and employers for having let somebody grow such long hair. This is great - I can't wait for it to air on BRAVO ... I think all they need to do is dub it, and it's a drinking game waiting to happen! [The scary thing is, I'm not sure of the Queer Eye guys would disagree with some of the recommendations]

Snippets from the Beeb article below:

North Korea has launched an intensive media assault on its latest arch enemy - the wrong haircut. A campaign exhorting men to get a proper short-back-and-sides has been aired by state-run Pyongyang television. Pyongyang television started the campaign last autumn with a five-part series in its regular TV Common Sense programme. Stressing hygiene and health, it showed various state-approved short hairstyles including the "flat-top crew cut," "middle hairstyle," "low hairstyle," and "high hairstyle" - variations from one to five centimetres in length

It stressed the "negative effects" of long hair on "human intelligence development", noting that long hair "consumes a great deal of nutrition" and could thus rob the brain of energy. Men should get a haircut every 15 days, it recommended.

A second, and unprecedented, TV series this winter showed hidden-camera style video of "long-haired" men in various locations throughout Pyongyang. In a break with North Korean TV's usual approach, the programme gave their names and addresses, and challenged the fashion victims directly over their appearance.

Tidy attire "is important in repelling the enemies' manoeuvres to infiltrate corrupt capitalist ideas and lifestyle and establishing the socialist lifestyle of the military-first era," the radio says. Newspapers too highlight the civic advantages of short hair and smart shoes.

Also check out the popup series of photos attached to the article. Hey Jay, are you listening? We need to get our hair cut every 2 weeks otherwise we're "robbing our brains of energy" !

While Linklater is producing an animated version of a "live action original", Rodriguez and Miller are producing a live action version of Miller's noir graphic novels. Watch the trailer when they go back and forth between the illustrated version of the character and his or her acted avatar. It's a risky sell to push the movie based on authenticity to an obscure original, but I'm glad they're doing it.

Looks like someone is actually going to try Ishbadiddle's subject coding scheme!

If you're trying to collect signatures for a petition to cut the salary of the supervisor of elections by half, may I suggest that you not forge her name? And don't forge it twice. Especially when she campaigned on a promise not to sign any petitions while in office.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a purist about keeping corporations out of the schools. If we are unwilling to pay enough to guarantee a proper education for tomorrow's employees, then we're shooting ourselves in the foot. If we can make the Clown pay for it, so much the better. But you have to consider the costs involved. Here's what happened with Facing Inward:

I am on the warpath and I am pissed off. I just found out that today my son was invited to an all school assembly given by McDonalds. McDonalds is so interested in getting kids to read (what their menus?) that Ronald McDonald in all his finery is going to schools and doing what amounts to a magic show and promising the children if they read 10 books and get them marked off by their teacher then (big surprise here) they get a coupon for a free hamburger. Now, let's just forget about the fact that the second ingredient in a McDonalds hamburger BUN is high fructose corn syrup and look at what this really is about.

What this really is about is buying the loyalty of unsuspecting children into the McDonalds brand, using Ronald McDonald instead of the big arches (because that would simply be too in your face). If McDonalds can nab my 6 year old then they've got a customer for life and, if, as a pro-McDonalds reading program article puts it ("McDonald's intent is to associate its mascot, the clown Ronald McDonald, with preschoolers' emotions toward learning to read, and to raise awareness of Ronald as a brand icon among kids."), they can nab the positive emotions related to reading of my 6 year olds psyche then, by Goddess, they've got a McDonalds customer who will always associate Happy Meals with being happy. What upsets me most about this, however, is not that the school allowed it, not that they fell victim, willingly, to McDonalds propaganda but that I was not notified as a parent that this was going to happen, that after the fact I was told about it by my child and that I had no option to opt my child out of it. Big corporate politics at work in your local public school my friends. It sucks.

Here's an easy way to make sure parents have the right to opt out -- have the Clown come in and teach evolution. Then you'll be given a choice.

Microsoft's Gates endures PC crash during keynote speech at U.S. tech show

The curious history of the "Hello Kitty Vibrator" The site is not work safe but the article is.

After either recognizing the huge PR gaffe they made or recognizing that they should do the right thing after all, House of Representatives Republicans voted to undo the rules change they made in November helping out Tom DeLay. Other actions of note by the House Ethics Committee yesterday include not removing language from House ethics rules requiring a representative to “conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House” and requiring a majority of the Ethics Committee to request a formal investigation of a rep before such investigation is undertaken.

While I’m glad that they reversed course on the first issue, the second two don't seem particularly worthy of congratulation. Not killing language that requires state representatives to Congress to be upstanding people gets applause like asking a schoolteacher to be a good role model does.

And requiring a majority of the Ethics Committee to request a formal investigation means that a formal investigation will happen essentially at the whim of the dominant party in Congress (if Congressional majorities map onto committee majorities as I would expect). True, not requiring a majority means that a minority party can force formal investigations for political reasons, but IMHO ethics rules are partly about being vigilant — even if overly so — rather than permissive.

This item previously mentioned in Ishbadiddle on 18 Nov 2004 and 19 Nov 2004.

I've been emailing around; so far everyone I know who's in the area (like Kerim) or who have family there (like Ennis) are OK. Today I heard from Annabel, a friend from Yale who runs a dive shop in Bali. She reports:

Thanks for your concern - I am relieved to report that Bali was totally unaffected by the earthquakes and tsunamis: we have had several groups of divers in the water each day for the past couple of weeks including at the time of the earthquakes and throughout that day - there have been no strange waves, nor currents. . . . am assisting in the gathering of supplies to send up to Aceh/north Sumatra. Pretty tired!

She also sent this newsletter. I thought you might be interested to know what's happening on the ground in Indonesia, and how you can directly help. (We have already made contributions to Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, and American Jewish World Service but will also help the organization below.

Aceh Aid at IDEP: Earthquake/Tsunami Update - 31 December 2004, midnight

To all those that have sent e-mails, apologies if they remain unanswered we are are working as quickly as we can.

In Bali - IN BRIEF

Enormous amounts of donations in kind as well as cash have been received by the drop off points island wide are being channeled through several initiatives to support the relief effort in Aceh / Sumatra. We are working in cooperation with several organizations, including, but not limited to: Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS), Ary’s Warung & The LKMD of Ubud, KAFE, Bali Cares and Tegun Gallery, Macan Tidur/The Sleeping Tiger, Environmental Bamboo Foundation, and PT Jika-POSKO Bantuan Bencana Aceh, Surfer Girl HQ & Aroma Café, Dijon / Alam Boga and Asana Kopi & Teh. Logistics of trucks and packing materials have been contributed by Bisama Cargo, Nusa Trans and Karunia. Aceh Aid Bucket Brigade aid packages are being prepared as an immediate survival and sanitation tool for families stricken by the disaster. Buckets can be dropped off at drop off locations. Drop off centers are relaying shipments to partner organizations and personnel in Sumatra.

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FIELD ACTIVITIES REPORT - IN BRIEF
We’re doing the best we can to relay accurate information, however the situation on the ground is changing by the hour. Our contacts on the ground are reporting back to us as quickly as possible, with the best available information.

INITIATIVES FROM MEDAN

A second convoy of 17 trucks / vans left Medan with forestry and police at 5 am today, which has gotten as far as Langsa, and are on the road to Banda Aceh. The bad news is that it was pouring rain as the fleet went out. We’ve had the first reports of GAM (Aceh Independence Movement), causing problems on the road, they took 3 trucks of food in Biren. Also, en route, one truck in the convoy blew a tire and ended up on its side, one team member broke an arm but all are ok. No news as of yet as to how yesterday’s convoy is managing to administer aid as we lost telephone contact with them for now.

Air drops by military helicopter have been observed using splatter type techniques, indiscriminately tossing out marginally valuable aid, such as boxes of dried noodles, in the Meulaboh area. And this, with no visible recipients on the ground, in many cases, over waterlogged areas. In contrast, our approach is to be able to focus aid appropriately, and intelligently, providing the best possible immediate and longer term Survival Value Per Kilo to visible, tangible recipients.

The Orangutan Information Centre (SOS-OIC) is continuing to purchase and pack supplies for the Aceh Aid Bucket Brigade with funds we have transferred to them in Medan.

INITIATIVES FROM PADANG

Two of our disaster relief volunteers, Lee and Sam are currently strategizing plans for entry into the remote island area north and west of Padang with a wonderful team of dedicated local diving and surfing companies who are mobilizing all of their available resources to get help to people who have had no assistance or contact with anyone from the outside for the past 5 days, since the disaster struck (there are about 35 dive and surf companies in the area). These teams have professional experience in navigating these waters, an understanding about where these remote populations are located and existing relationships with the local communities. They are launching the first boats tomorrow through challenging to pass debris filled areas.

They arrived at aprox 1pm in Padang, West Sumatra, with critical supplies and thousands of dollars to use for buying supplies on site. Lee is conducting a initial logistical field assessment and advising on the initial effort from the Padang side, while Sam (an experienced disaster field worker and engineer) is advising the team in logistical preparations and preparing to depart with the teams as soon as the special water purification filters that we are purchasing for him have arrived from Singapore. They have report that there are still lots of basic supplies available for purchase there.

Five liveaboard dive and surf vessels, including the Quicksilver vessel, have been pledged for aid use for two months free of charge. They are also in the process of gaining access to three 60-tonne cargo ships, although they will require dinghies to get to shore. We have knowledge of a party bringing in 4 zodiacs, destination unknown as of yet.

How you can help

Online Donations by Credit Card Now Possible (Tax deductible in US) via PayPal.com
Many thanks to Keith Pleas in Seattle & Lauren @Tides Foundation and others

1. Go to www.paypal.com
2. If you do not have a PayPal account set up, click "Sign Up" or "Join Now".
3. Follow all of the instructions for signing up with PayPal (they are rather complicated, so be patient).
4. When you are signed up, you are ready to send money.
5. Click "Send Money".
6. Follow instructions to send money, to acehaid@tides.org
7. Note: When you try to make your first payment, you will see beside the "amount" line, that you need to click there to "Verify Credit Limit" first, before you can make a payment.

A funding channel for Aceh Aid has now been established through the Tides Foundation www.tides.org, enabling donors to use credit cards to make payments to us from 45 countries around the world (tax deductible in US as our channeling organization – Tides – is 501c3). Transactions will be possible via our website beginning tomorrow. Donations will be rapidly dispatched to us via Tides, with 100% of your funds reaching us here.

Donations via our Indonesian Bank Account:

Account Name : Yayasan IDEP
ACCOUNT NO : 034.001229576.003
Bank : BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia), Cabang Ubud, Bali
Bank Address : Jl. Raya Ubud, Bali - Indonesia
SWIFT Code : BNINIDJA DPS

Matching Funds from Microsoft
Today we received news from the USA that we have been approved for matching funds from Microsoft for donations made by Microsoft personnel in the USA (to be reconfirmed tomorrow. - Ed.).

Drop Offs / Donations can be made at:
Ubud: Ary’s Warung, Jl Raya Ubud, Tutmak’s & IDEP foundation office - Jl Hanoman No 44b, Ubud
Denpasar: JIKA- POSKO Bantuan Bencana Aceh - Jalan Tjok Tresna #49, Renon, and / or UNUD & Warmadewa Universities
Kuta: Surfer Girl HQ & Aroma Café, Dijon / Alam Boga
Seminyak: Asana Kopi & Teh (across from Made’s Warung)
Our goal is to refine our cargo channels so that we can send stuff efficiently and reliably to our contacts on the ground and get the aid to the people who need it most as quickly as possible.

Current priority list for donations is:

PRIORITY No1 - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SUPPLIES OF ALL KINDS, TOOLS FOR TRIAGE & ON SITE OPERATIONS

Other Items much needed

* High quality pool chlorine
* Hydrogen peroxide
* Iodine (LOTS) the pure kind not betadine
* As much Oralite rehydration salts as we can get our hands on
* Lye (Kapur used to mix with cement)
* BIG Pots that can be used for boiling water
* Shovels
* Generators GENSET
* Kero “Butterfly” Stoves (with tank hose and bicycle pumps)
* Empty large 20 Lt aqua bottles
* Large buckets (the big black ones with sealable lids)
* Satellite phones & Walkie talkies
* Solar chargers for hand phones and laptops
* Cellphone “pulsa” cards
* Soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, talcum powder, sanitary napkins
* First Aid medications & bandages, Betadine, Vitamins (especially for infants & children)
* Medicines for diarrhea, Panadol for fever and pain, cold & cough medicines, antibiotic creams
* Non perishable food, rice and instant noodles
* Candles, lighters, gas lanterns, torches (flashlights) and batteries
* Linens, Towels, bedding, hammocks, mosquito nets, large plastic bags & other containers
* Any (if possible quick drying) clothing
* Mosquito repellant (coils, creams & sprays)
* Cooking & eating utensils, cook stoves
* Tents, tarpaulins and ropes
* canned fish
* salted dry fish
* canned milk
* cooking oil
* other packaged food items
* women’s sanitary napkins
* cajeput oil and telon oils

Information for potential Field Volunteers

We are coordinating volunteers to go to Sumatra. Please contact us at hp: 081-338-401653 for more info only if you are a skilled volunteer in any of the following categories (doctors, paramedics, peace-corps trained level volunteers) with Bahasa Indonesia skills, financial independence, vaccinated, valid visa, willing to commit to several weeks at least.

Discounted vaccinations are available for volunteers via IDEP Aceh Aid initiative that are going to Sumatra from the International SOS clinic in Bali.

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We now have a 24-hour Press Contact Hotline: (from overseas) +62 81338 846 8073 / (within Indonesia) 081 338 468073
Please direct legitimate press inquiries to this number.
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Do what you can.